‘Giving the Plaza a rest’ Red & White Ball takes a year off

A fter devoting 17 years and nearly a million dollars to spruce up its namesake, the Sonoma Plaza Foundation has decided this year not to hold its signature Red & White Ball fundraiser.
“We’re not doing it this year – we’re giving the Plaza a rest,” foundation head Denise Silver said July 7. “We will be back next year in 2009.”
Silver added that the ball will likely be held afterward at two-year intervals, and not only to alternate with San Francisco’s Black & White Ball.
“Because of the fact that the Plaza’s being overused, and we thought that since most of our money is going to the renovation of the Plaza that seemed like a responsible thing to do,” Silver said.
Since 1990, the foundation has contributed 100 percent of the ball’s proceeds – over $800,000 – to Plaza and adjacent projects and to local nonprofit associations. Among the former are the Broadway tree-planting project; three years of Plaza electrical renovations; trees and shade-cover restoration for the Grinstead Amphitheater; City Hall landscaping; new benches and playground equipment; and a new sprinkler system for the Sebastiani Theatre.
Nonprofits benefiting from the ball include the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma Valley, Valley of The Moon; FISH (Friends in Sonoma Helping); Sonoma Valley Education Foundation; Meals on Wheels; Pets Lifeline; Sonoma Community Center; Sonoma Valley Community Health Center; Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance; Valley of The Moon Teen Center building fund and the WillMar Center for Bereaved Children.